


Laserbrains

by rudbeckia



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21649978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudbeckia/pseuds/rudbeckia
Summary: If Armie is going to get into the most prestigious university he can, he needs a good grade in Science alongside his main love: history. To Armie, a science project is essential.If Ben is going to get that prestigious theatre apprenticeship he wants, he needs plenty of time to work on his acting skills and choreography. To Ben, a science project is wasted time.So when they are partnered up for a science fair project and forced to cooperate, it’s going to be a disaster.Right?(Polished up twitfic)
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo
Comments: 16
Kudos: 67





	Laserbrains

Date and title written at the top of the page and underlined, homework suspiciously absent from the first slide of Mr Pryde’s physics lesson, Armie sags in his seat and waits for Mr Pryde to stop droning on about something-or-other and tell him what esoteric, unimportant phenomenon to make incomprehensible notes on today. At his elbow, Phasma sits up and then leans forwards, smiling. Mr Pryde glares at the class.

“For the benefit of those who were not listening first time, I will repeat the instructions,” he says.

The students are silent. Nobody want to be the poor sap who has to raise a hand and ask for a third explanation.

“Both science classes will be joining for the science fair. You will be partnered with a student from the other class and you will cooperate on a joint project. You will receive equal scores which will be weighted heavily towards soft skills.”

Mr Pryde scans the classroom. “And what are soft skills? Anyone? Yes, Dopheld.”

A pale faced, dark haired boy speaks up. “Interpersonal skills, time management, organisation skills, commu—”

“Thank you, Dopheld, I think we all get the idea.” Mr Pryde fixes his gaze on one student. “No swapping partners.”

The redhead under scrutiny slinks a little further down in his seat. His neighbour, a tall blonde, leans close and murmurs, “Sorry Armie, I can’t help you this year.”

Armie sighs. “Why is it always Science Fair? Why can’t it be History Fair? I could make a motte-and-bailey castle complete with working trebuchet and model severed heads on spikes around the walls.”

“...will work with Ben Solo.” Pryde drones in the background. Most students are quietly discussing their partner allocation.

“Phasma with Unamo.”  
Phasma lets out a little squeal that makes Armie flinch. “Jeez, my hearing, Phas!”  
“Sorry. I get to work with cute brunette from 5B! Who are you working with? I didn’t hear if he said.”  
“Neither did I. Wish me luck.”

Phasma pats Armie on the back and he slowly raises his hand. Mr Pryde’s cold eyes settle on him. “Sorry sir, I was listening but—”  
“Ben Solo.”  
“Fuck, no!”  
“Detention for swearing. Bring me your planner.”

Armie lifts the spiral bound diary from his desk and trudges forward, holding it out so that Pryde can add a red sticker on today’s page, then trudges back to his seat.

“Bad luck, mate,” Phasma says. “I’ll back you up if you tell your dad you’re at homework club with me.”

Armie slides his fingernail under the corner of the red sticker and slowly peels it off. “Thanks,” he says. “Bet that dickhead phones my dad anyway. Say nice things at my funeral.”

“You’re seventeen, Armie,” Phasma says later over a lunch of tasteless red sauce on soggy pasta. “Pass this and you’ll be off to university next year. Where you planning to go?”

“Far away,” Armie replies. “Not Scaparus College or Arkanis Institute. They’d make me live at home. Coruscant University is good for history but it’s competitive. I’d need top grades.”

“You’re getting top grades,” Phasma points out. “In everything except science.”

“And I was going to work for that but if I’m being graded the same as Ben Fucking Solo then I’m screwed.”

“He can’t be that bad,” Phasma says, attention wavering as Unamo walks past their table, stops, turns, comes back and sits.

“Whatever. Last year he failed every written exam. He’s only still here because of drama and dance. They need him for the show.”

Armie gets up and dumps his half eaten lunch.

The afternoon cheers him up: an hour of history discussing reasons for the decline of the Hutt Empire and the resurgence of clans and warlords, followed up with a discussion about what lessons ought to be learned from it by modern politicians.

Then he has an hour of independent study so he hits the library and checks out a book on comparative religion focusing on Jedi and Sith, and whiles away the time planning an essay on “The Role of Religion in Warfare” before texting his dad that he’s at homework club.

He walks briskly to Mr Pryde’s classroom for his detention. The teacher is not there, but the room is open so Armie goes in and sits down, getting his essay plan out again to add to it.

He hears footsteps approaching and Mr Pryde’s voice ringing down the corridor. “Your mother would be mortified if she knew you tried to skip your punishment. I should not have to come and collect a student of your intelligence for detention.”

There’s a grumpy mutter from the student that Mr Pryde ignores.  
The door opens and Ben Solo walks in.

Armie lets his gaze flick from Mr Pryde’s delighted sneer to Ben Solo’s scowl and back again.  
“Isn’t this fortuitous?” Mr Pryde crows with false cheer. “You two in detention together. Sit there, Ben.”

Mr Pryde points at the chair beside Armie. Ben slumps into the seat one beyond it. “Well that’s good enough for now, I suppose,” Mr Pryde says. “Armie, put your homework away. Detention is for making amends for your transgressions. It’s not homework club. Now, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I apologise for my foul language, sir.”  
”And you, Ben?”  
Ben sighs deeply. “I’m sorry for what I said to Dr Sloane.”

“Good. Now why don’t you tell each other what exactly you were cursing about?”  
Armie’s cheeks warm and a pink flush rises from his neck. He glances sideways at Ben. Ben is also blushing and won’t meet his eyes.

Armie presses his lips together then sits forward, elbows on the desk, arms folded tight. Under the table he has his knees pressed together too and his ankles crossed tightly. “I was...” he says, then stops to consider his words. “Unsure if I had the right science fair partner.”

“Yeah,” Ben says, voice dull. “I don’t want to work with you either.”

“Great!” Mr Pryde beams as if they had just confessed mutual admiration. “That’s your starting point. Now you have the rest of the hour to come up with a title and a plan for your project. I’ll leave you to it.”

Mr Pryde heads for the door. “I’ll be in the staffroom across the hall,” he adds ominously, looking sternly at the two detainees, “if you need anything.”

He wedges the door open as he leaves. “Yeah right,” Ben drawls. “Bet the old bastard’s listening in.”

Armie shushes him. “You want him to come back and supervise?” Armie whispers loud enough for any passer-by to hear. “I need to get out of here on time. All right. Just got to come up with a plan.”

“You do that,” Ben says with a nod, taking a messy notebook from his backpack. “I’ve got a script to work on.”

“No way,” Armie says, pulling the dog-eared sheaf of papers from Ben’s hands. “I am not failing this project because you refuse to work with me. A good grade is my ticket out of this shithole town.”

Ben launches himself across the space between them after his precious script. He slams into Armie with enough force that Armie is buffeted right out of the plastic seat and they sprawl on the floor. Armie lands on his back. Ben’s on top of Armie with both hands on the notebook Armie is holding above his head. Their faces are inches apart.

“DON’T MAKE ME COME THROUGH THERE!” Pryde’s voice bellows across the hall. Ben takes his script back and rolls off Armie.

“You don’t get to touch my stuff,” Ben says angrily. He waves the notebook under Armie’s nose. “This is MY ticket out of this shithole town.”

Armie gets up slowly and picks up his chair, then he straightens the tables and sits down again. Ben’s sitting in his chair, red faced and sullen, staring at the wall. “What do you mean?” Armie says.

“Like you’d care,” Ben retorts. “You ‘academic’ types don’t understand us ‘vocational’ types. You think it’s easy for us.”

“That’s not true!” Armie says, reddening at the lie. “Not really,” he adds, quietly. “Finn showed me his Health and Social Care coursework once. It looked intense.”

“But you all joke about us being part timers who only have one exam and then you joke about how we only need a passing grade. And you joke about how all we have to do is turn up and spell our names right to get that pass.”

Armie’s quiet for a minute. Ben’s not wrong. All right,“ he says. “Tell me then, so I understand. What’s so important about your script?”

Ben wipes his face with his hands and looks at Armie. Armie raises his eyebrows.  
“I got an audition,” Ben says. “Theatre company in Ryloth.”

“An audition,” Armie says, flatly. Then he sees Ben’s expression twist into anger and says it again with enthusiasm. “An audition! That’s great!”

“You’re damn right it is!” Ben snaps. “I knew you wouldn’t get it.”

“I’m sorry,” Armie says. “Please tell me why it’s a big deal. I’m not being snobbish about dance and drama. I literally just don’t know.”

Ben sighs deeply and frowns at Armie. Armie forces a smile. “Fine,” Ben says. “If I pass the audition I get a paid theatre studies apprenticeship with the Ryloth Arts Foundation. If I fail, I have to live at home and consider my career options while I retake English and Maths and whatever else Scaparus College makes me do.”

“Oh.” Armitage sucks his lip. “I guess we’re in similar positions really. I need a high grade in Science to get into Coruscant.”

Armie sits back and contemplates the cover of the history book in front of him. “I need an A in this science fair project,” he says. “And you’ll stop me from getting it. I’ll end up at Scaparus too and living with my dad.” Armie glares at Ben. “I _need_ to get out of there.”

Ben shrugs. “What for? He’ll get you a job. You can marry Phasma and make little ginger baby Huxes together.”

Armie stares at Ben, dumbfounded. “Oh. My. God,” he says. “You don’t know.”

“Know what, you knob?” Ben says, glaring.

“We’re best friends. She’s not my girlfriend.” Armie steels himself for a reaction. “I’m not really into girls.”

Ben frowns, then his jaw drops. “But your dad complained to the school about the LGBT guidance programme!”  
Armie nods. “I know.”

“And he tried to send in a religious counsellor!”  
Armie sighs. “I know.”

“And he got Counsellor Antilles fired!”  
“Again,” Armie says, “I know.”

“Your dad’s a fucking homophobic bigot!”  
“Ben.” Armie clenches his fists. “I. Know. I _live_ with him.”

“Fuck!”

“BOYS! LANGUAGE!”  
“SORRY SIR!”

Ben turns to face Armie. “So I need to shirk this stupid science thing because I need to rehearse for my audition so that _I_ can get out of this town. And you need to ace it because you need the top grades so that _you_ can get out of this town.”

“Sums it up,” Armie says. “And we’re both crap at Science,” he adds. “Last assessment I scraped a D-minus. What about you?”

“I was absent that day,” Ben says with a wink.

“So we’re both screwed,” Armie says, head settling on his arms on the desk.

“Unless,” Ben says. “No. You wouldn’t do it. You’re too... Never mind.”

“What?”

“Too honest.” Ben leans back again.

Armie turns his head to frown at Ben. “Too honest? What for?”

“Well,” Ben says, clasping his hands behind his head. “You’re not going to Coruscant to study science, are you?”

Armie sits up, shakes his head and mutters, “fuck, no.”

“So you just need the grade. Not the scientific knowledge, right?”

Armie’s frown deepens. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean,” Ben says, looking at Armie, “the project must be done, but do we have to do it? Maybe we need to find someone who is actually good at science. And make _them_ do it.”

“That’s cheating!” Armie says. Louder, he adds, “we have to come up with something ourselves, Ben, and share out the work fairly.” Under his breath, he says, “Do you know Dopheld Mitaka? Science nerd in my class.”

“Of course we do,” Ben says loudly. “We should set a schedule to meet in our study periods.” Quietly, Ben says, “yeah, teamed up with Thanisson from my class. The guy almost had a sci-gasm when he heard Doph’s name being called out with his.”

“Okay,” Armie said, projecting his voice. “Let’s compare timetables.” Then he murmurs, “Think they’ll do it?”

Ben nods. “I’ll flirt with Doph. You find out what Than wants.”

Armie’s face colours again. “You shouldn’t flirt with Doph unless you mean it. He’s...” He laughs as realisation dawns.

Ben grins. “Not my type really. I’ll kiss him if I have to but he’s not into me either. Are you the only person in our year that doesn’t already know I’m gay?”

Armie’s eyes open wider, he stutters out a couple of confused syllables then he smiles and pushes his planner across at Ben, open at the timetable page. “All right. I’ll talk to Than while you flatter Doph. We still need to come up with a title and a plan.”

Ben rummages in his bag and brings out a tattered scrap of paper. He unfolds it carefully until it hangs like lace from his fingertips. Then he smooths it onto the table.

Armie peers at the faded grid, just visible on the page. “I can’t believe we have no frees together!”

Ben shrugs. “That’s unfortunate,” he says clearly. “We’ll have to do this whole project after school. At home.”

“It’ll have to be your house,” Armie replies. “My dad—”

“Tomorrow?” Ben says. “I’ll tell my mom. She can call your dad for you.”

Armie actually feels his eyes sting at this simple act of kindness. “Okay,” he says. “Oh, can we make the project about the firepower of naval canon? Or special effects?”

“Does that mean we get to blow shit up?” Ben asks, suddenly showing interest.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” comes Mr Pryde’s voice from across the hall.

Mr Pryde nods his approval at their study schedule neatly written into Armie’s planner and allows the title ‘The Magic of Movie Science’ on condition they restrict themselves to researching effects that do not involve explosions, fire or corrosive chemicals.

Next morning, Armie catches Thanisson in the canteen before classes begin. After buying him latte from the machine and explaining what he wants, Armie cajoles and Thanisson bargains until they have a deal.

The day goes slowly. Armie doesn’t see Ben at all but they’re scheduled to meet at the end of classes. As the afternoon drags on, Armie realises he’s looking forward to seeing Ben. Phasma teases a bit but when Armie mentions Unamo she goes pink and shuts up.

Ben is waiting near the door outside Armie’s last lesson of the day and they walk out of school together. “Any luck?” Ben asks as they reach the end of the street.

“Thanisson agreed to do it if I give him advice on how to ask Doph out, and my airpods,” Armitage says. Ben smiles.

“Doph agreed on condition I give him some voice coaching and teach him how to talk to boys he likes.” Ben’s smile widens into a grin. “He likes Thanisson.”

“So we’re set?” Armie asks.

“Yeah.” Ben pauses at the road crossing. “You don’t actually have to come home with me if you don’t want.”

Armie’s stomach churns. Of course Ben doesn’t actually want his company. “I suppose you want the time to prepare for your audition,” he says, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice.

“I mean,” Ben says, “you can, if you do want. It’s fine either way. You can stay for dinner too.”

Armie considers going home with Ben for a while or going home by himself to wait for his father to get back from work and grill him about that nice girl he hangs around with. He smiles. “I’ll come with you, if that’s really still okay.”

“Good,” Ben says with a smile. ”I told mom I wouldn’t make her help with my play because I was bringing a friend home. You can do it.”

“Oh?” Armie says, eyebrow cocked. “What’s the play? We’re doing Equus in Lit. and I can’t imagine rehearsing that with anybody’s mom.”

“Something I wrote myself,” Ben says with a shrug.

They arrive at Ben’s house, laughing and joking, to find Ben’s mom waiting for them in the kitchen with a serious expression on her face.

“Ben?” she says as they walk in. “I got a phone call from school.” She glances at Armie. “About both of you. Cheating.”

Armie’s head spins and Ben looks furious.

“Who called? Mom, we don’t cheat.” He huffs. “My grades would be better if I did and Armie doesn’t need to.”

“So you didn’t persuade another couple of students to do your science project for you?”

Ben opens his mouth to protest but Armie gets in first. “Yes.”

Ben’s mom’s lips tighten. Ben deflates as she looks at him.

“Yes,” he says with a sigh. “But only because Armie really needs to pass and I really need to rehearse and we don’t have any study periods together.”

“I see,” Ben’s mom says quietly.

“I’m sorry, Mrs Solo,” Armie says and Ben winces beside him.

Ben’s mom glares. “It’s Ms Organa, thank you.” She sees Armie’s horror at his mistake and softens. “I suppose you can call me Leia.”

They stand in awkward silence for a few seconds, then Leia shakes her head slowly. “I don’t expect either of you laserbrains considered actually _doing_ the project?”

Armie studies the floor tiles. Ben sighs. “Who told?”

“Does it matter?” Leia shakes her head. “Nobody told. Not really. Dr Sloane overheard two other students talking about how they’d have to have sleepovers at each other’s places to fit in two science projects. She called me.” Leia inclines her head. “Want to know why you were paired up together?”

Ben keeps his head down and mumbles. Armie glances up and sees Leia smile.

“It’s because your teachers knew this was the only way to make you both participate. So play nice and don’t blow anything up.”

Upstairs in Ben’s room, Armie sprawls on his front on the floor and Ben reclines on his bed. “She’ll really make us do it, you know,” Ben says.

“I hope nobody calls my dad,” Armie replies.

“That bad?” Ben turns his head to meet Armie’s dejected look.

“Bringing the family name into disrepute blah blah blah.”

“Oh.” Ben looks at the ceiling again. “So we need a title and a plan for real, I guess.”

“I want my airpods back from Thanisson,” Armie says. “It’s their fault we got caught.”

“Yeah,” Ben agrees.

“BEN!” a voice hollers upstairs. “A WORD! NOW!”

Ben groans. “My dad. Ugh. Bet mom called him over. Wish me luck.”

Ben gets up. Armie pats his leg as he passes and murmurs, “good luck.”

Ten minutes pass during which Armie studies the books on Ben’s shelf and the posters on his walls. One of them stands out.

“Look,” he says when Ben returns.

Ben frowns. “I’m double grounded,” he says.

“What?”

“Home straight after school except for theatre club, not allowed out and no visitors. Except you, because I said I couldn’t do the science project without you, and mom backed me up. Applies to mom’s house and dad’s place too.”

“Well, LOOK!” Armie says, holding out the book he’d taken from Ben’s shelf and pointing at one of his posters.

“The Art and Science of Theatre Magic,” Ben reads, then looks at a poster for _The Great Galactic Magic Show._ “So?” he says with a shrug.

Armie riffles the pages until he finds what he wants, and he holds out an illustration. “I bet, with a bit of science and some workshop help, we could make Mr Pryde disappear in front of an audience.”

Ben reads the page and looks at Armie thoughtfully. “Forever?”

It doesn’t feel like science.

Armie works on designing a model contraption that isn’t that far removed in skill from designing a trebuchet. He isn’t sure what to do with the calculations, working by the feel and the look of it, and Ben’s dad, Han, helps him with the numbers later.

Ben researches theatre special effects and makes a video explaining the history of visual effects, showing demonstrations (with Armie’s help) of illusions involving light and mirrors and angled panes of glass.

Armie is at Ben’s house most evenings for hours: sketching and planning and filming and sometimes working with Han in the garage to build prototypes while Ben rehearses for his audition. Leia helps them turn the dining room into a set that they use to film demonstrations and to watch Ben’s increasingly polished drama performance.

Armie’s father, persuaded by Leia that their sons are putting all this work into their science project, demands daily updates on their progress as soon as Armie gets home. And Armie happily obliges, chatting amiably about levers and the principle of moments and gear ratios and refraction and reflection and equilibrium and... and so on until Mr Hux ceases to listen.

Their presentation, they decide, should be a compilation of all the best videos they have recorded since Principal Snoke refuses permission to install Armie’s contraption on the school stage.

The science fair deadline comes round fast. Armie and Ben submit their notes and video just before the noon cutoff. At the end of the day, Armie automatically starts walking towards Ben’s house, then he remembers the project is over and stops, standing still for a full minute.

Reluctantly, he turns to go home. Except Ben’s house feels like home, with all its noise and Leia and Han’s bickering and the unusual cooking smells from Ben’s younger sister’s culinary experiments. His own house feels cold in comparison, his room silent and sterile and grey.  
He feels like he’s lost something.

When his father gets home, they exchange few words over dinner and Armie excuses himself. He just wants to sit in his room.

Or, no. He wants to sit in Ben’s house grimacing as Rey describes horrible recipes to Uncle Luke, or laugh as Han tries to explain the Highway Code to Ben.

He does his set homework, reads a few pages of history, and sends Ben a goodnight text. Ben replies with a kiss emoji that makes Armie giggle and blush.

He has two things to brighten the next few days. The science fair presentations and grades are on Friday. Ben’s audition is on Saturday and he as been invited along by Leia.

Friday equally can’t come soon enough for Armie, and fills him with dread. He hasn’t seen much of Ben all week: just a few hellos passing in the corridors and a couple of texts confirming the arrangements for Saturday.

The school hall is busy. Several of the science fair projects have stalls set up around the outside, including one with Armie’s and Ben’s models on it, and younger students have been brought along to see what the older students have achieved.

A few other groups have made videos too and when the students are starting to get bored with browsing the stalls, they are herded into seats to watch. Than and Doph’s video is a technical explanation of rocket designs, ending with a few test launches of models.

Phasma and Unamo present a video about the physics behind gymnastics, which Armie murmurs to Ben is an excuse for Phasma to see Unamo in a leotard.

Then it is their turn.

Ben scripted the video apart from a few droll ad-libs from Armie. It shows the boys poring over Armie’s sketches, and footage of a couple of mishaps in Han’s workshop has the audience giggling.

In the set-piece of the show, Ben and Armie pretend to be magician and assistant and Ben makes Armie vanish from plain sight. The audience mutters and whispers, but they don’t take their eyes off the screen. With a flourish, Ben waves his hands and Armie reappears.

The audience laughs but loses interest as, on screen, the pair explain how the trick works with a set of glass panels, smooth gears and levers, and clever lighting. Phasma makes Armie blush when she elbows him and asks him if they kissed yet.

But at the end, in the presentation, Armie gets the ‘A’ he needs.

When his grade, and Ben’s, is announced, he’s so elated he hugs Ben. It’s a good thirty seconds later when they have to go up and collect their bronze certificate that he realises he’s still holding on around Ben’s shoulders and Ben’s arm is around his waist.

Embarrassed, he pushes away. “I have to text my dad,” he says. “That’s my first A in science. Ever.”

Ben smiles and watches Armie tap surreptitiously at his screen, throwing his bag onto Armie’s lap to hide the phone when Mr Pryde walks past, glaring at another broken rule. Armie holds his breath but Pryde winks and walks past.

Ben shudders. “Creep.”

“Ugh, yeah.”

“We did good, Armie.”

“Yes! My predicted grade for science should be high enough now to get me an offer from Coruscant.” Armie bites his lip. “you nervous about tomorrow?”

Ben rolls his eyes “Of course. Everything depends on this one performance.”

“I’ve helped you rehearse but I’ve not seen it all the way through,” Armie says. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Well, you still might not. If I’m shit they might cut the audition short.”

“But it’s so good!” Armie says. “Why would they not love it?”

“Not it,” Ben says. “Me. The first piece I have to perform is something I won’t see until five minutes before I’m up. If I can’t act, I won’t get to show off my own thing.”

Armie knows better than to annoy Ben with platitudes, so he settles for squeezing Ben’s arm when they are dismissed from the hall.

His phone buzzes once they are outside and he reads his text. “My dad’s not coming home tonight until late.”

“Is he happy about your grade?”

Armie shrugs. “He asked why I didn’t get gold. Oh well. I’ll be at your place in the morning. Ugh, five o’clock? I don’t know what five o’clock even looks like.”

“Come over now. Stay the night,” Ben suggests. “Mom won’t mind. Then you’ll be there already when we have to set off for Ryloth at stupid o’clock. Don’t even bother going home. I can lend you stuff.”

“All right,” Armie says, grinning.

He texts his father to say he’s going to Ben’s house and sets off with Ben. It feels good, walking shoulder to shoulder, knowing there’s a welcome from people who will be happy for him.

And there’s Ben. “Is that your first A?” Armie asks, nudging Ben.

Ben laughs. “No, you shit. I got a distinction-star in dance. That counts as an A-star and I bet you couldn’t get anywhere close to that. In dance, at least.”

Armie laughs. “Can I see you dance? Maybe? Sometime?”

“Maybe,” Ben says with a shrug. “Sometime. Performance is part of the course so you could sit in on a class if you have a free. Oh! And come to my exam.”

Armie frowns. “Your exam?”

Ben laughs again. “It’s performance. I need an audience, not just Ms Kanata and the external verifier.”

“Can I?” Armie asks. “I can’t invite you to watch me take my history papers but that’s three hours at a time of me sitting on my arse writing essays, and you can see that whenever you like.”

“You look cute when you write,” Ben says. “Like this.”

He sticks his tongue out of the corner of his mouth and crosses his eyes. Armie laughs and shoves him.

“Do not.”  
“Do too.”

The evening at Ben’s house is relaxed as it can be. Leia refuses to let Ben rehearse any more, reasoning that he needs to go to bed early and sleep if he is to have any chance of success at the audition, and Han asks for a copy of Ben’s bronze certificate. Armie offers him his certificate. Han starts to refuse but Leia clamps his shoulder with a hand and he changes his words to “...and thank you so much! I will put it on the wall of my workshop.”

After dinner—something bland instead of the spiced dishes that Rey prefers to make in case it upsets Ben’s stomach—they go upstairs. Ben offers Armie some leggings and a sweatshirt to lounge around in and they both get changed.

“What do you think the mystery piece will be?” Armie asks.

“I don’t know. That’s the point.”

Ben shuffles back on his bed and pats the space beside him. Armie sits with his back against  
the wall and Ben opens his laptop.

“Movie?” he asks.

Armie nods. “You choose.”

He doesn’t really care what film Ben wants to watch as long as they can sit together, touching from shoulder to hip to knee, not talking. Before he knows it, Ben’s moving and the credits are rolling.

“Sorry,” Ben says. “I was trying not to wake you.”

Armie blinks and stifles a yawn. “Sorry. I’ll take the floor.”

“Why?” Ben asks. “Floor’s cold. We can share, can’t we?”

Armie flops over on Ben’s bed, smiling at the familiar scent of Ben’s hair on the pillow. He has lounged on Ben’s bed plenty of times but hasn’t slept in it. He can’t think of a single reason why not.

“Come on,” Ben says, smiling. ”Mom left you a spare toothbrush and a towel in the bathroom.”

Soon, Armie is snug in Ben’s bed, back to back with Ben and snoring softly.

He wakes with Ben curled around him. It’s dark out but there’s an alarm blaring and the door opens a crack and someone reaches in a hand and snaps the light on.

“Mo-o-om!” Ben whines. “Five minutes.”

“In five minutes I’m coming in there,” Leia calls through the crack in the door.

Ben groans, turns, rolls and lands on the floor with a soft thump. “Ugh, get up,” he says, shaking the lump of Armie’s hip through the covers. “Sleep in the car.”

Armie gets up and changes into the spare underwear Ben gives him, and pulls on his clothes from yesterday. Soon they are sitting bleary-eyed in the back of Leia’s car with Rey excited about being allowed to ride up front for once. It’s a four hour drive to Ryloth.

Ben yawns. Armie pats his lap. “Lie down if you want,” he says. “You need this more than I do.”

Leia meets his eyes in the rear-view mirror. “Keep your seatbelts on,” she reminds them.

Ben flops and rests his head on Armie’s thigh. Armie strokes Ben’s hair, and Ben dozes. Armie falls asleep too, lulled by the constant roar of car engine and tyres on tarmac. When he wakes, it’s light and Leia is navigating a car park.

“Breakfast stop,” she says. “Coffee. Oh god, I need coffee.”

Armie laughs and opens the door, shivering at the slight chill of fresh air. Ben rouses himself and sits up slowly, blinking. Rey only wakes up when Leia promises a McBreakfast.

“Nearly there,” Leia promises.

Forty minutes later, Ben and Armie are tumbled out onto the pavement outside the Ryloth Arts Foundation so that Leia can find a place to park without worrying that Ben will be late. They go inside and join the line so that Ben can register.

Ben’s taken through one door, and Armie is directed through another. Leia and Rey join him half an hour later and they find seats, front and centre in the upper circle. Armie texts Ben with where they’re sitting and sends him a photo of the stage.

On a whim he sends a selfie, a burst photo of him blowing a kiss for good luck.

There’s no reply. The auditions start. Han arrives an hour late when Armie is nervous with anticipation and dying a little every time a name is called and it’s not Ben. The standard is high. So high that Armie worries for Ben and internally rehearses what he might say if Ben doesn’t pass the audition.

But then Ben’s name is called. When he walks on stage and introduces himself, it’s all Armie can do not to yell and wave.

Ben looks up in his direction anyway. Armie knows it’s all an illusion, that Ben can’t possibly see him, can’t possibly see more than the first two or three rows of the stalls because of the lights in his face. But he feels like Ben is looking right at him, as if this performance is for him alone.

Ben swallows and sucks his lips a few times, drops his head and shakes his shoulders, and Armie fears for him.

Then Ben seems to remember where he is and why he’s there, and his performance begins.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?  
It is the East, and Armitage is the sun!  
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon...

There is no sign of nerves. No hesitancy in his delivery, no stumbling words or forgotten lines. Ben’s recitation exudes hope and joy. Armitage stares at Ben intently, the shape of every syllable that falls from his lips, leaning on the balcony that separates them as if he could somehow get closer. Ben’s performance of those tired old lines fizzes and sparkles, and the auditorium is silent.

When Romeo’s soliloquy ends and the audience applauds, Han claps Armie on the shoulder. “All right, Juliet. Think he’ll get a place here?”

Armie wipes his eyes and refuses to speak. Leia slaps Han’s arm and tells him to behave. Rey asks what’s happening and can she have ice cream now she’s been good for Ben’s turn on the stage.

In the second half, when only a third of the applicants are called back, Ben’s chosen piece is clearly a success. He’s nervous, but the fluid movements of his choreography seem to relax him and let the well-timed humour of his script shines out.

It’s no surprise when the announcement is made that Ben is one of the three successful applicants.

Han and Leia hug. Then Han and Leia hug Armie. He’s overwhelmed and embarrassed when he starts to sob. Han backs off but Leia hugs him closer.

“Thank you,” she says. “He wouldn’t have been able to do this without your... friendship. You really boosted his self esteem and made him work for this.”

“Uh... I... thanks...” says Armie.

Internally, he’s calculating. Four hours from Scaparus to Ryloth City. Four hours in the wrong direction from Scaparus to Coruscant. He’ll be eight hours away from Ben Solo.

“Leia,” he says.

“M-hmm?” she replies.

“Ryloth has a university. Right?”

“It does,” Leia says, a smile on her lips that Armie can’t see yet.

“I don’t think I want to go to Coruscant any more,” Armie says. “Ryloth’s okay, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” Leia says, smile growing. “I suppose it probably is. You could look it up.”

Armie does his research on his phone while he waits for Ben to emerge from the stage door. Ben is elated. Han and Leia envelop him in hugs and kisses and we’re-proud-of-yous while Rey kicks her feet and sighs.

Eventually Ben approaches Armie. “So,” he says. “What did you think?”

Armie takes a few seconds to consider his reply.

“All right,” he says. “One. If you ever call me Juliet in public I will kick you in the balls.” He twitches a smile and waits for Ben to grin back.

“Two. You are so fucking talented I actually cried on your dad’s shoulder. Make him never remind me of that.”

Ben’s grin widens.

“Three,” Armie says with a laugh. “If I wanted, for some reason, to change my application from Coruscant to History BA at Ryloth University, apparently they don’t need me to pass science.”

Ben laughs and picks Armie up, puts him down again and kisses him once, quickly, on the lips.  
“Can you switch your application? Would you do that? To be with me?”

Armie holds up his phone. The website displayed has Armie’s application accepted and an offer pending.

“I already did.”

And while Han takes Rey away to find ice cream and Leia carefully studies a poster on the wall, Armie puts his arms around Ben’s neck, leans in and kisses him back.


End file.
